Nail guard



Sept. 22, 1942. M. s. LANDsMAN NA IL GUARD Filed July l0, 1940 Patented Sept. 22, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NAIL GUARD Mary Stevens Landsman, Chicago, Ill. Application July 10, 1940, Serial No. 344,713 5 claims. (o1. 13e-88.5)

This invention relates to a guard for the iinger-nail employed in the application of liquid nail polish. It is well known that in the application of such nail polish to fingernails without the use of a guard or the like, a portion of the nail polish usually is deposited upon the flesh of the linger adjacent the sides of the nail and must be wiped olf, thereby requiring cleaning of linen or the like, as well as presenting an unsightly appearance.

The present invention has for one of its primary objects to provide a nail guard which can be snapped over the end of the finger, and which is so shaped as to define an opening closely iitting the outline of the fingernail and protecting the flesh on the sides thereof against any possibility of nail polish being deposited thereon.

One of the features of the present invention is to provide a guard formed of light gauge spring metal, or of a resilient plastic or the like which can be readily formed as a stamping if in metal, or as a molded product if plastic, which is adjustable to some extent so as to fit various fingers of the user. It is contemplated that these guards will be made up in sets of ve, one for each of the lingers, with the various sets being made in sizes such as large, medium and small so that all of the fingers of one hand may be protected during the application of polish to the nails.

An additional feature resides in the ability to snap the nail guard laterally from the finger after the polish has been applied rather than drawing it out endwise, thus insuring that the polish which has been applied will not be damaged by the guard when the guard is removed, and also facilitating and expediting the application of the polish.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a nail guard of this type which can be made adjustable in size so that a single guard can be used for fingers of varying size. In addition, the guard may be so formed as to provide a moon guard which will definitely outline the moon at the inner end of the fingernail, thereby insuring a perfect professional application of the nail polish by any inexperienced operator.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully from 4the following detailed description which, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, will disclose to those skilled in the art the particular construction and operation of a preferred form of the present invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of one form of nail guard embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a modified form of'adjustable guard;

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken substantially on line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of a guard provided with a moon guard.

Considering now in detail the form of the invention shown in Figures l and 2*, a nail guard is provided, indicated generally at 5, which may be formed of light gauge spring steel stock, or may be formed as a molded resilient plastic or the like. The body portion 5 of the guard is of generally tapering cylindrical form with the larger end thereof provided with the inturned wing portions 6 adapted to form spring bands for gripping the finger rearwardly or inwardly of the nail portion. The body of the guard is then cut away, as indicated by the slots l. to further increase the resiliency of the wings 6, and thereby provides for attaching the wings 6 to the body portion through only a thin strip of metal, indicated at 8.

Disposed forwardly of the wing portions 6, the upper portion of the guard is cut away by means of arcuate surfaces 9 which define the curvature of the sides of the nail when expanded into position thereabout, the fingernail being diagrammatically indicated at It, while the finger is indicated at II. The arcuate portions 9 at their rear ends curve inwardly to approximately a closed position, as indicated at I2, which de'iine the curvature of the nail adja- ,cent the base thereof, and thereby substantially conform to the arcuate shape of the nail from the base outwardly to the corners. The forward portions of the arcuate cut-outs 9 extend inwardly to conform to the tapering shape of the nail, and terminate in spaced apart rounded end portions I3. Preferably, the edges forming the arcuate surfaces 9 and the ends of the wing portions 6 are rounded or beaded, as indicated at I4, to provide a smooth surface which will not cut into the flesh of the finger, and also, it is desirable that the inner end of the guard have its edge laterally flared, as indicated at I5, to facilitate sliding the guard over the finger into position. The surface 0f the guard lying against the finger under the nail is preferably provided with a spring tongue IIi struck out of the body portion 5 of the guard, as indicated at Figure 2.

This spring tongue I6 serves to provide a frictional tension which will assure that the guard is resiliently held in the desired position to outline the shape of the nails by the arcuate surfaces 9. member and. to provide circulation of air, suitable elongated openings l1 are provided in the side walls of the guard below the cut away portions 9, which further enhance the appearance of the guard as well as increasing its resiliency. The tongue I6 may be struck out from the base of the guard, leaving the opening I8 therein, and the free end of the tongue is preferably curved slightly downwardly, as indicated at I9,

to provide a smooth surface which will not have any tendency to catch or scratch the ringer. Due to the resiliency of the construction, the wing portion 6 and the nail defining portions` 9 can be forced laterally away from each other whenthe guard is applied to ngers of larger size than its normal shape, while still retaining very accurately the outlines of the nail so that the polish may be readily applied thereto. This allows the use f the same size of guard for several of the fingers, although, as previously stated, it is contemplated that the guards will be made up in sets of ve, and possibly in two or three sizes of sets so as to readily accommodate all sizes of fingers.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4, the guard is made of two pieces, indicated generally at 20 and 22. The two members are provided with corresponding ilared or arcuate surfaces 23 defining the side edges of the nail and turning inwardly adjacent the base of the nail to form the wing portions 24, which extend toward each other about the base or inner end of the nail and overlie the cuticle portion of the finger. The members 20 and 22 are of generally arcuate section, and the forward edges thereof extend along the sides of the nger to a certain distance therebeyond, the nail being indicated at I0. Each of the members 20 and 22 is provided with an arcuate rounded portion 25 and 26, respectively, which embrace the fleshy portion of the nger beneath the nail, these portions constituting tongues which extend into arcuate overlapping position. The portion 24 of the member 20 is provided with a transverse slot 2'! therein, which is adapted to receive the serrated tongue portion 28 of the member 25. This serrated end portion extends through the slot and can be locked in various adjusted positions therein, thereby enlarging or decreasing the size of the opening 3l] which accommodates the finger. The end 32 of the tongue 28 is preferably reversely curved to prevent withdrawal of the tongue completely from the slot 21, and thus prevent disassembly of the guard. The extending portion 3'3 of the wing 25 is curved about the outer surface of the portion 26 so as not to interfere with the operation of the mechanism.

This provides a telescopic adjustment, and it is to be understood that in place of the serrated surface 28 on the tongue, this adjustment may be provided by a pin and slot connection of conventional type with suitable means for limiting the amount of adjustment desired. Since the guard member shown in Figures 3 and 4 is of very thin spring stock, it will readily conform to the curvature of the nger and outline the edges of the nail in a manner such as to permit the ready application of nail polish thereto.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure In order to lighten the weight of the 5, a nail guard is provided similar to that described in connection with Figures 1 and 2, and indicated generally by the reference numeral 5. However, in this form of the invention the arcuate surfaces 9 which define the edges of the nail are in this form defined by normally extending flanges 40, these flanges being bent in such manner as not to form sharp edges, but being extended at the point where the arcuate surfaces 9 terminate to form reversely curved overlapping tongues or lips 42 and 43 extending across the space indi-cated at I2 in Figure 1. The overlapping thin flanges 42 and 43 form an arcuate moon guard which protects the moon of the iingernail so that polish will not be applied thereto. By reason of the overlapping of the portions e2 and 43, the moon guard is self-adjustable with the adjustment of the nail guard for various sizes of lingers, and consequently a true moon curvature is maintained regardless of the extent'to which the guard is expanded over a linger. Rearwardly of the moon guard Vanges 52 and 43, the guard 5' is deeply slotted, as indicated at 44, and is provided with the wing portions 6 corresponding to those described in connection with Figure l, which are adapted to resiliently engage about the nger inwardly of the nail t0 hold the guard in position.

The guard shown in Figure 5 may be provided with a tongue similar to that shown at I 6 in Figure 2 if desired, and in other respects, will operate and function in the same manner as described in connection with Figures l and 2.

It is therefore believed apparent that I have provided a novel type of nail guard construction which is readily adaptable to lit various sizes of fingers by reason of its resilient construction, and which provides a very adequate protection for the flesh which denes the shape of the nail to insure that no nail polish will be applied thereto.

I am aware that various changes may be made in certain details of construction without in any manner departing from the underlying principles of the present invention, and I therefore do not intend to be limited except as dened by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A nail guard comprising light weight resilient body means of generally tapering U-shaped form, wing portions at the larger end expansible for frictionally engaging the finger inwardly of the nail, opposed inwardly turned arcuately curved dening edges toward the smaller end of said means adapted to be spread laterally upon application of the guard to the finger for outlining the side curves of the nail, and means in the base portion of said body means opposite said nail defining surfaces for resiliently engaging the nger to maintain said guard in position including a spring tongue struck inwardly opposite said nail dening surfaces.

2. A nail guard comprising means forming a light weight resilient body portion of generally tapering U-shaped form, wing portions at the larger end expansible for frictionally engaging the finger inwardly of the nail, opposed inwardly turned arcuately curved defining edges toward the smaller end of said portion adapted to be spread laterally upon application of the guard to the finger for Voutlining the side curves of the nail, and arcuately shaped overlapping flanges between the inner ends of said arcuate dening edgesV forming a moon guard and automatically expansible upon lateral spreading of said edges.

3. A resilient snap-on type nail guard having curved longitudinally extending surfaces embracing the sides of a iinger adjacent the nail, inwardly directed arcuately curved edges on the upper periphery of said surfaces overlying the finger along the lateral sides of the nail and deiining the curvature of the sides of the nail, said edges terminating at the inner end of the nail in tip portions extending to the moon of the iinger nail, clamping portions extending around the finger for frictionally supporting the guard thereon, and interlocking tab and slot means on said clamping portions for adjustment of the area defined therein, said tab being corrugated to provide a plurality of selective interlocking positions in said slot.

4. A nail guard for a finger nail, vcomprising Curved longitudinally extending portions engaging the finger along the sides of the nail, inwardly curved arcuately curved edges on the upper periphery of said surfaces overlying the iinger along the lateral sides of the nail and defining the curvature of the sides of the nail, said edges terminating at the inner end of the nail in arcuately shaped overlapping flanges defining edges forming a moon guard and automatically expansible upon lateral spreading of said edges. 5. A resilient snap on type nail guard having curved longitudinally extending surfaces embracing the sides of a nger adjacent the nail, inwardly directed arcuately curved edges on the upper periphery of said surfaces overlying the nger along the lateral sides of the nail and defining the curvature of the sides of the nail, said edges terminating at the inner end of the nail in tip portions extending to the moon of the finger nail, clamping portions extending around the iinger for frictionally supporting the guard thereon, said portions having curved tab portions extending into lateral overlapping relation beneath the inger opposite said finger nail, and means in said overlapping portion fol selectively interlocking them in a plurality of overlapped positions to adjust the guards to fingers of various thicknesses.

MARY STEVENS LANDSMAN. 

